John -- I wanted to share great news and massive thanks from our local partners in Colombia: we've officially helped them DOUBLE the size of Los Tities de San Juan Forest Reserve, home to the last 7000 cotton-top tamarins left in the wild! 

It's not just a lifeline for endangered species. The Forest Reserve also benefits local communities with jobs and family-oriented educational activities. And besides that, it's another reminder that we can achieve beautiful things together.

Thank you again!

If you're available on Friday 22 March, please join this special Zoom call to learn more about the project in Colombia.

And in case you missed these other updates, here's a recap of some of our impact last year:

When a massive international corporation tries to steal land from indigenous communities – we’re there. And we stop them!

Together. 

That’s what each small donation does: builds a world-class legal team to go toe to toe with a timber giant, documents traditional lands to shut down a palm oil predator, bans a toxic chemical that gave kids cancer and more! 

The work we’re doing transforms lives, and it’s thanks to each and every member of this vibrant community that these partners are able to celebrate this year. Here’s more info on what we’ve done together and how we can still help:

We’re protecting Indigenous land against timber giant Samling

In Malaysia, when the small grassroots organisation Save Rivers exposed Samling for destroying Indigenous land and pushing endangered gibbons towards extinction, the timber giant launched a lawsuit designed to silence and bankrupt the small group. Ekō members rushed to chip in and help fund the legal costs so they could keep fighting back.

And it worked! Our financial support and public outcry forced the company to drop the case.

Now we have to keep fighting to get the forest permanently protected while the momentum is on our side!

Chip in to help them keep up their fight to protect their land.

Indigenous rights defenders gather in front of Miri High Court. Photo courtesy of The Borneo Project.

We’re helping the Moi people protect their land

Predatory palm oil companies announced they wanted to tear up a New York City-sized swathe of Indonesian rainforest traditionally inhabited and preserved by the Moi Indigenous people – and where birds of paradise, endangered fish, and rare tree kangaroos thrive. 

Our community sprung into action by supporting Pusaka, a local NGO working alongside the Moi people to win legally recognised rights for their land. Our donations are helping them carefully map the land using GPS and then document everything, including hunting and fishing patterns, and complete surveys of historical sites. 

All of this is essential evidence to demonstrate to the central government in Indonesia that the land belongs to the Moi people – and it wouldn’t have been collected as thoroughly and as urgently without us! There’s still time to help power the project:

Chip in to help the Moi people protect their land. 

Moi Indigenous people in traditional dress at a gathering in Sorong, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of Pusaka.

We’re stopping cancer-causing chemicals from being used in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, an amazing group called EcoCipreses asked for help to force the government to ban a toxic pesticide that has been contaminating their water and poisoning their families and friends for years. Through thousands of donations and a 100,000 person petition, we were able to make this issue go truly viral in Costa Rica, shine a spotlight on the chemical and win!

Our partners credit our publicity push for “finally getting the attention we’ve been trying to get for years.” We also supported the local community with its advocacy efforts – drafting letters, designing/printing materials, and delivering our signatures to government officials in San Jose. All of this pressure worked – and scored a major public health victory for all Costa Ricans – as the President signed the ban into law just weeks ago!

EcoCipreses delivering our petition signatures to Congresswoman Kattia Cambronero Aguiluz in San Jose

We’re fighting to keep Glyphosate off the shelves

Thousands of Ekō members came together to end glyphosate’s presence in Europe. We donated to hire an advocacy expert who lobbied decision-makers in Brussels and marshalled civil society groups across Europe to ramp up the pressure in their home countries. Our donations helped run strategic ads in key newspapers across Europe, and together with Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN), WeMove, and Avaaz, we delivered our 2.5-million-strong glyphosate ban petition to leading European Commission officials.

The Commission had to twist the rules to get around our massive wave of opposition and now our partners are suing them for failing to follow their own process. You can help power this next step by clicking here:

Click here to donate to it and help keep this toxic poison off the shelves!

Dozens of supporters and campaigners from the Stop Glyphosate Coalition with banners and placards outside the European Commission to deliver 2.5 million signatures against the renewal of glyphosate

 

And that’s just the beginning of the story of how our community has powered dozens of local partners to win battles they never thought possible. 

Each of our moments of hope, of solidarity, of generosity when we click to contribute a small amount to Ekō multiply into this kind of life-changing impact. And because of those moments, we end 2023 with a sense of pride, of accomplishment, and determination.